After finally seeing the others off, Killian turned his gaze toward Ross, who was still staring at the place where Nick Fury had disappeared, unable to look away for a long time.
"What's wrong? Still jealous of someone else's stealth aircraft?"
With a smile on his face, Killian walked over to Ross's side and teased him.
"How could I not be? For a modern military, a truly meaningful stealth fighter has enormous significance."
"But even now, the best our military aircraft can do is apply stealth coating to evade radar scanning and achieve a kind of pseudo-stealth."
"If we had an aircraft like his, it would be like adding wings to a tiger."
"Whether it was a fighter or a transport aircraft, it could deliver massive amounts of ammunition or personnel right into the enemy's core before they even realized what was happening."
"Its strategic value is even greater than the Tyrants'."
"Even though our military has never gotten along with S.H.I.E.L.D., I have to admit that with the World Security Council's funding behind them, the scale they possess is far greater than what we can see, and their foundation is hard to imagine."
"For this one technology alone, it would take us decades of research."
After hearing Killian's question, Ross spoke with deep emotion.
If the World Security Council were willing to redirect the funding they gave to S.H.I.E.L.D. toward the military, then they probably would have unlocked these technologies long ago.
Unfortunately, that was all just fantasy.
"Heh. Is it really that amazing?"
"If you want it, give me twenty billion dollars and I'll start developing stealth technology for you. How about that?"
Killian only smiled faintly and spoke as if it were no big deal.
For Killian, stealth technology was not very high on his current development priority list, because to put it bluntly, that kind of technology was mainly useful for military purposes. Its civilian applications were limited.
It was nowhere near as practical as Baymax, smartphones, the T-Virus treatment, and the like.
So Killian was not in any rush to develop stealth technology.
Of course, if Ross was willing to pay in advance, Killian would not mind moving that backup option forward.
After all, stealth technology was just stealth technology.
Among black-tech concepts, it was almost common.
How many science fiction films did not include some form of invisibility technology?
Forget stealth aircraft. There were stealth cars, stealth umbrellas, stealth clothing. If a screenwriter could imagine it, they could write it.
There was even full-spectrum cloaking on the higher end, meaning long-range infrared-guided weapons could not identify or lock onto the target, the object would be invisible across the red and ultraviolet bands, and even autocannons would be useless because you could not see it even at close range. That was true invisibility.
But Killian had no intention of giving Ross that last kind of technology.
Leaving aside the price, that was something he intended to use to equip his own forces later.
And based on Killian's estimate, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s stealth aircraft were probably only using optical invisibility at most.
"You're serious?"
After hearing Killian's offer, Ross looked at him with a face full of uncertainty and disbelief.
This was stealth technology.
Other than S.H.I.E.L.D., he had never heard of any organization capable of developing something like it.
But then, after reminding himself that the man in front of him was still the head of Pioneer Technology, a person who could create robots and Tyrants, Ross was no longer quite so shocked.
"Of course. That price is already a friendly one. And our company has already begun the initial R&D investment. I just haven't increased manpower and resources for it yet. Otherwise, I'm sure the development speed would exceed your expectations."
"So how about it? As long as you put in twenty billion dollars now, I guarantee that within two years, I'll give you stealth fighter technology on the same level as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s."
"I promise you'll make a killing on it."
Looking at Ross's incredulous expression, Killian continued speaking.
Because he had realized that selling weapons technology to the military generated influence far faster than keeping it to himself.
How long had it even been since he handed the Tyrants over to the military?
Just one Tyrant alone had already brought him tens of thousands of reputation points from military use, and it was practically nearing six figures. He did not even dare imagine where those people had dragged the Tyrant off to show it off.
And if he sold them stealth technology too, then based on Killian's estimate, it would be impossible for the military not to go out and stir up trouble with their new toy.
And a basic stealth technology package, just the simplest optical cloaking system, only cost him 500 reputation points.
Before and after, Killian could earn returns hundreds of times greater.
Possibly even a thousand times or ten thousand times greater.
That meant Killian's side would be making a negligible investment in exchange for a massive return.
For him, it was an absolutely稳赚不赔 arrangement, and the money being spent was the military's.
What was that called?
Using someone else's money to make them work for you, and then having them thank you afterward.
"I need to go back and think about it."
Looking at Killian's confident expression, Ross instinctively chose to believe him.
But this was twenty billion dollars.
The military's annual budget was only around three hundred billion dollars to begin with.
Spending that much all at once, even for an organization already notorious for burning money, still required serious thought about whether it was worth it.
"Hahaha, no rush, no rush. But General Ross, let me say this first. If your side doesn't make an offer and drags it out too long, then if some other organization comes knocking, don't blame me if I sell it to them instead."
Killian expressed understanding, but he still made sure to say what needed to be said.
After all, the United States military was hardly the only organization in the world capable of causing trouble. If he backed some group over in Afghanistan, let them use his technology, and have them create chaos for him, would that not be even better?
Of course, for Killian, all of that was a matter for later.
Unless absolutely necessary, he had no intention of personally stepping into war.
It suited his development path far better to stir things up in secret and make a fortune while others fought and died and he made money.
"..."
After hearing Killian's words, Ross found himself momentarily at a loss for what to say.
He knew perfectly well that American arms companies were all cut from the same cloth, doing business with the U.S. military on one hand while selling weapons to military organizations all over the world on the other.
But doing it was one thing.
Saying it out loud was another.
After all, he was still a general in the United States military.
Just as Ross was about to say goodbye, Killian's secretary approached, quietly whispered a report into Killian's ear, then left again at Killian's signal.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]